Oct 6 Casa del Mar beach resort @ Pantai Cenang, Langkawi, Malaysia

Hi folks! It's been a while! I just got back from a long holiday in Iceland and I am all rejuvenated to bring you more exciting blog posts! Today I won't be talking about my Iceland adventure but I won't make you wait too long so stay tuned!

Now, back to where we were, before my Iceland trip, I went to Langkawi for a weekend getaway. I was delighted to be invited to stay at one of the best hotels in Langkawi - Casa del Mar. And today, I will be sharing my experience during the stay.

To introduce, Casa del Mar is a 4 star Mediterranean-style resort set on the pristine Pantai Penang beach. It is designed in a way to welcome you home by the sea, and is managed by HPL hotels and resorts.

We arrived at Casa del Mar via the airport transfer arranged by the hotel from Langkawi International Airport. Upon arrival, we were warmly welcomed by one of the staff and very refreshing welcome drinks. After filling in some necessary information, we had the staff to show us around the resort and lead us to our room. The staff was very friendly and professional in explaining all the details and we were led a good vibe from the beginning of our stay.

Information and activities of the day are clearly stated at the hotel lobby for guests' convenience

We were arranged for a Beachfront Studio Suite and we fell in love with it at first sight. The name of our room is 'Azul'. Besides the direct access to the beach, it has a large private courtyard and the room is bright and spacious, which makes it very comfortable. You will love this room if you wish to wake up to the sound of crashing waves and a view of infinite turquoise. What a perfect picture for each morning of your stay!

Throughout our 2 nights stay, we woke up with quality sleep and that indicates the king size bed is doing a great job in keeping us comfortable throughout the night. I was also excited to find out there were TWG tea bags and a Nespresso coffee maker in the room, and they also replenish fresh fruits, cookies and nuts everyday. There are also umbrella, beach bag and slippers for guests to use throughout their stay. The room quality definitely exceeded our initial expectation. And not forgetting our room is equipped with Wifi as well.

Moving over to its dining facilities, we had free breakfast every morning at La Sal Restaurant. The restaurant opens from breakfast till dinner and has different seating areas with sea view. A romantic beach dining can also be arranged with the hotel and they serve BBQ every evening for dinner as well. Now, let's take a look at the breakfast we had.

Free coffee and tea daily in the afternoon

Breakfast is a semi-buffet style where you order your main breakfast on the menu and the rest is in the buffet line. I had egg benedict and Chris had wonton soup noodles. I am pretty happy with their home-made breads and various choices of home-made jam, and a wide range of fresh fruit juice selections.

Condiments for Nasi Lemak

Hmm, champagne for breakfast is pretty cool though

We also had dinner at the above-mentioned restaurant. We sampled their signature Surf & Turf, Mek Mek Mek, pan-seared foie gras and Meat of the Day, which was Grilled Australian Beef Fillet. In our honest opinion, we thought the overall food standard and quality could be better. We were probably having higher expectation on its dining considering they excel in other areas of the resort. However, they do get very good reviews for their dining on TripAdvisor so I suppose individual taste could be a very subjective matter. On the other hand, the in-room dining we had, Langkawi Buffalo Mozzarella pizza, is awesome!

For those who enjoy drinking you may find this very interesting. Instead of happy hour, they have 'lucky' hour from 5-7pm where you play a game at the bar and if you wins, you get a drink for free! So this is the game rule: Place your glass on one of the colour tiles on the bar top and turn the wheel of fortune, if the colour matches, you get a free drink! And this could go on and on, and the highest record they've got so far is 7 consecutive glasses of alcohol for one lucky guest!

We spent our second day soaking some 'Vitamin-Sea' and relaxing in the pool. The outdoor pool is huge and boasts a sea view and a pool view (depending where you sit). However, in Malaysia it tends to get pretty hot in the afternoon at the pool so if you are not a sun's buddy, you may want to opt for the pool during the evening. I think they give out free champagnes to guests by the pool when it hits 5pm or something because half way through our swim, we were given 2 glasses of free champagne, how dope!

We did not manage to visit their Satkara Spa during our stay but we went to have a look. I cannot comment on the treatments but the environment looks pretty cozy and comfortable, and I like the scent!

They also have a reading area with a computer with internet connection, and printer in case their guests need to print some documents or boarding passes etc.

Casa del Mar is conveniently located along Pantai Cenang Beach. For this prime location and its top-notch hospitality, it is enough to draw many guests to the resort. A water sports centre is located just beside the resort, which makes it more convenient for those who are up for some sea actions! It could occasionally get pretty crowded at the beach though with all the water sports around. Also, if you have a late flight on your date of departure and your room is not available for late check out, they have a lounge and TV room for you to rest, and take a shower at the gym's shower if you wish.

You can reach Casa del Mar from the airport via the hotel's airport transfer (additional fee applies), public taxi or a rented car. I would highly recommend the last option if you are planning to go around Langkawi during your stay because taxi in Langkawi could easily cost a bomb! Imagine a 15-20 minutes drive costs MYR30! So yea, you know what's the best option for you.

All in all, I highly recommend Casa del Mar for a relaxing stay by the beach. You can laze around in the resort or sign up for activities with the hotel. With the friendly and warm hospitality, Casa del Mar makes you feel like home!

Interested for a short getaway with Casa del Mar? You may check for your lowest deal here.

Otherwise, if you are planning to have a longer stay (5 nights), do check out their Getaway Package which is valid until 31st December 2016.